A Lesson in heroism

What’s going on?: Parents, students and karate enthusiasts gathered for a presentation at Cindy Powell’s Blackbelt Karate. Usually it is Powell who is going from school to school giving presentations, but this time the tables were turned. Making it interesting, Powell brought in a special guest.

What’s going on?: Parents, students and karate enthusiasts gathered for a presentation at Cindy Powell’s Blackbelt Karate. Usually it is Powell who is going from school to school giving presentations, but this time the tables were turned. Making it interesting, Powell brought in a special guest.

What it was: Ray Amanat was Cindy Powell’s special guest at her Blackbelt Karate business Wednesday night for a presentation on anti-bullying and a lesson in standing up for one’s self and others.

“I do this because I was a victim of bullying myself from elementary school through high school and I just don’t want kids to go through the things that I went through. I try to give positive solutions to empower the kids that are targeted by bullying, empower the bystanders that might see it happening instead of them laughing or becoming part of it,” Amanat, of St. Louis, said. “I don’t want to harp or focus on the word bully. The name of my company is Heroes in Action, so I try to talk about what it means to be a hero, what does a hero do, what does a hero say.”